Category : Industry News
From Wave to Ripple to Flat line: Google Pulls the Plug on Wave
It came. It went. The end of email was predicted and in the end it’s Google Wave that bowed out. Looks like we didn’t have to wait long to see what the future would have in hold for Google Wave: on August 4th, Google announced that they were pulling the plug on Wave due to lack of user adoption, and discontinuing its development as a standalone product. (Aug 06, 2010)
Who is Responsible for Internet Security: A Response
Basically you have the Australian courts who want to place the onus on the shoulders of end-users. Others want to put the responsibility on Operating System or Application vendors due to their security holes. Finally, you have the Mail System operators or Network connectivity providers (ISPs) who don't take sufficient measures to combat open relays or botnets where infected machines act like SMTP proxies. (Jul 26, 2010)
Who’s responsible for Internet Security?
A couple of stories in the news today caught my attention because they have very opposite perspectives on tackling cybercrime and Internet security. First, the Australian government is thinking of making home computer users responsible for security1. They’re contemplating legislation to force users to install anti-virus programs and firewalls on their home computers before being allowed to connect to the Internet. (Jun 23, 2010)
May Email Security News: New Undersea Cables Feed African Botnets
Email Security Industry news from May 2010 with commentary (May 31, 2010)
Here come the spam police
The German courts may have just opened the floodgates. Their top criminal court ruled this week that home wireless users can be held responsible for not password-protecting their wireless connections. If the unprotected connection is used for illegal file downloads, the owner can be fined up to 100 Euros (currently $126). (May 17, 2010)
Facebook or Faceblock? Facebook implementing their own ‘email security’?
Facebook is coming under scrutiny (again!), this time about their email scanning policies. Most of you are probably in the email security industry and are well aware that any email security solution will scan a message to divert or block spam, phishing, etc. (May 12, 2010)
Why can’t you stop this spam?
Maybe you’ve seen more spam hitting your Inbox over the past couple of months and wondering, “Why am I paying for filtering? This stuff is obviously spam – why can’t you guys stop it?” The main challenges of being in the spam filtering business are dealing with clients’ expectations on the one hand, and the sheer size of the spam/malware machine on the other. (Apr 16, 2010)
March Email Security News
A summary of links to recent articles that I have found interesting in the last few weeks. Includes my own commentary. (Apr 02, 2010)
Why you shouldn’t cut your email security costs
These days, running a business without email security exposes you to huge, unnecessary risks and costs. What is the cost of security? It should not have a price tag. Imagine having to go through thousands of emails (mostly spam) every day, just to make sure an important message does not get deleted. (Mar 29, 2010)
Spamhaus releases a new spam-fighting tool
Spamhaus publicly released its new Domain Block List (DBL)1earlier this week, after beta testing it for much of last year. They claim they have had “exceptionally positive” results from the testing, and the premise is really quite interesting. (Mar 03, 2010)
How would you punish a spammer?
“Last time out I suggested sentencing spammers to some quality time in a maximum security cell with an ex-biker named "Tiny." But I think that's too good for these people. They should be strung up by their thumbs and forced to watch ShamWow infomercials and Rick Astley videos until their ears bleed.” Robert Cringely, InfoWorld 1 (Feb 03, 2010)
Spam: Surveying the Surveys
Another year has passed and it seems everyone is busy publishing their year-end security reviews, survey results, and fearless predictions for the upcoming year. (Jan 20, 2010)
Personal email sent from work: is it private or company property?
With scandal after scandal involving employees stealing company data or releasing financial details, many companies have cracked down and are reading employee email. With many new laws coming into effect, and companies scrambling to meet regulatory compliance guidelines, it is important to remember that employees have rights too, and that they must be informed about any monitoring policies. (Nov 25, 2009)
Do the Crime…Do the Time?
Should Cybercriminals face life in jail? Announced this week in New Delhi, India, cyber-terrorism is now punishable with life-time imprisonment. An amendment was made to the Information Technology Act that was passed in 2008 to now include new-age cyber offences such as identity theft, cyber stalking, and cyber harassment among others. (Oct 28, 2009)
Is Email Dead? Don’t believe the Hype!
With all the buzz around social media (and notably so), industry analysts are declaring email a thing of “the past” and that social media applications, namely sites like Twitter and Facebook, will take over as our online method of communications. As technology evolves, it drives the habits of consumers. (Oct 23, 2009)
What’s the (cyber)world coming to?
Am I the only one who’s getting creeped out by the increasingly sinister tone of the latest cyberthreats making the rounds? Several news items from the past couple of days make me want to unplug my computer and forget I’d ever heard of the Internet. (Oct 07, 2009)
What Email Security Shouldn’t Cost you
Customized professional services contract should not cost your organization an arm and leg. (Sep 30, 2009)
Where does your data go when you’re not looking?
So it’s time to review and update your network security and you're preparing the budget. You’ve included the costs for hardware peripheral devices, anti-malware solutions, maybe encryption, etc. But what about a lawsuit - did you factor that into the bottom line? (Sep 09, 2009)
Critics Smell Spam in White House Healthcare Email Effort
The White House has emailed thousands of messages to Americans detailing its stance on the contentious issue of healthcare reform, but some recipients say the messages were unsolicited. Critics are questioning whether the White House used address-gathering tactics similar to those employed by spammers. (Sep 02, 2009)
Security Software Revenue Up 18.6%
Worldwide, the key drivers for fueling the growth of IT security spending are data security and privacy and the need to protect IT infrastructure from the ever-increasing sophisticated and targeted attacks. For North American and Western European Organizations, compliance was one of the major drivers. (Aug 28, 2009)
“ElephantGate” and other stories
Ah the “Dog Days” of August! Give me a hot, sunny day, a comfortable lawn chair and a really good spy novel, and I’ll get lost for hours. But who needs books these days? A recent article about corporate espionage reveals a wealth of true-life - and often truly bizarre – tales. Move over James Bond, the company janitor has cool gadgets too! (Aug 26, 2009)
Researchers simulate million-zombie botnet
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories in California, headed by Ron Minnich and Don Rudish, were able to boot more than one million kernels, or the central component of most operating systems, as virtual machines in a massive botnet simulation. Previously, researches had only been able to create a simulated botnet of up to 20,000 nodes. (Aug 19, 2009)
